Table D.6: Summary of welfare consequences, ABMs, hazards and preventive measures in systems keeping calves kept from birth till weaning in large groups and automatic milk feeding

Welfare consequence	ABM	Hazard	Preventive measure of the hazard
Prolonged hunger	Body condition score (BCS) Number of vocalisations Restlessness, i.e. increased activity and decreased lying	Low milk allowance High calf:drinking station ratio Heterogeneous group composition in terms of age	Provide more frequent opportunities to feed, ideally closer to natural feeding pattern Milk feeding corresponding to 20% of body weight until 4 weeks of age Provide feed in amounts and in types that meet not only nutrient requirements but also feelings of satiety
Gastroenteric disorders	Diarrhoea Hair loss in the perineum and hind legs Bloat Abomasal lesions Ruminal plaques Ruminal underdevelopment	Poor hygiene including bedding, teats, buckets; poor biosecurity Inadequate positioned or conceived bucket or teat Poor quality milk replacers High stocking rates Poor colostrum and poor colostrum management	Vaccination of pregnant cows Strict hygiene measures Routine (twice daily) monitor of calves to detect early cases Ensure sufficient (10–12% of body weight) and timely (up to 6 h p.p.) colostrum intake of high quality
Inability to perform sucking behaviour	Sucking of pen fixtures Cross‐sucking (Roth et al., 2009a,b) Loss of hair and inflammation of skin in the navel area	Offering milk in open buckets (Jensen and Budde, 2006) Offering low milk allowances (Roth et al., 2009a,b) Weaning strategy e.g. too early weaning, too low intake of solid feed Breed Separation from dam.	Offering milk via a teat Increase amount of milk Increase milk feeding frequency Stepwise weaning based on solid feed intake Rearing with dam or foster
Group stress	Aggressive interactions with physical contact Count displacements from the automatic milk feeder	High number of calves per automated milk feeder Feeder which cannot be closed or with no lateral barriers Low space allowance per animal Heterogeneous group composition in terms of age	Low group sizes Low number of animals per feeder Closable feeder Access to teat after milk intake Individual feeding places with a possibility to fixate calves during milk Avoiding regrouping Sufficient space for synchronous lying
Inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour	Non‐nutritive oral manipulation Tongue flicks Tongue rolling	Barren environments Concentrated diets Low feeding frequency/duration	Provide relevant enrichment, e.g. rubbing fixtures (brushes), enrichment objects, bedding Increase fibre content of diet to increase foraging Make animals work for their feed, e.g. straw rack, and increase feeding frequency Provide access to an outdoor area and pasture